Posts

Posted on

NEWS CONFERENCE ALERT

Rensselaer Environmental Coalition

WHEN: Saturday, November 9th
TIME: 10:45am
LOCATION: 15 Riverside Ave, in the city of Rensselaer.  

Dear Friends: 

You are invited to attend a news conference this Saturday, November 9th at 10:45am at 15 Riverside Ave, in the city of Rensselaer.  A new group of local residents and elected officals have come together to oppose a new pollution source proposed  in the city of Rensselaer.Please join us and if possible, rsvp to Bob Welton with Rensselaer Environmental Coalition to let him know you can attend at rensenvirocoalition@gmail.com

This is not a big rally (yet) but we want ot have a good showing of people from throughout the region  at the news conference to illustrate broad opposition to this terrible proposal.  Bring friends, family and signs or banners and share this email with other environmentalists.An outfit named Harbor Rock has proposed building an incinerator on the old BASF property in the City of Rensselaer. 

That property is a toxic waste site, listed as a state superfund site by the NY Dept of Environmental Conservation. The City of Renessleaer is an overburdened environmental justice community which is already home to the largest construction and demolition debris landfill in the state (Dunn Landfill) a fracked gas power plant and other polluting facilities. The company wants to bring dredged material from the bottom on the Hudson River and perhaps NY Harbor to the City to be burned at 2000 degrees in a rotary kiln incinerator.  And then they want to turn that in to aggregate to be sold for construction projects.  Think Norlite 2.0The dredged sediments from the river bottom  often contain pcbs, pfas chemicals and heavy metals that will not be destroyed by high temperature incineration.  This company met with local officials this past June but failed the mention the incineration part of their proposal and have not shared anything with the public.   See details below from an excellent Times Union editorial.We hope to see you this Saturday!

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THIS TIMES UNION EDITORIAL
Albany Times Union, October 31, 2024
Editorial: Kiln proposed for Rensselaer a lose-lose for community.
https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/editorial-kiln-proposed-rensselaer-lose-lose-19871377.php
Posted on

Letter to the TU Editor

PHOTO BY WILL WALDREN OF THE TIMES UNION. TO READ RICK KARLIN’S STORY: https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/port-coeymans-supports-nyc-infrastructure-ample-19757108.php

Staff Reporter, Rick Karlin, of the Capital Region Times Union newspaper published a story on Sept 13, 2024, that only told half the story. Here’s what he missed:

To the Editor,

I have long admired Rick Karlin’s environmental reporting. However, his recent article about the Port of Coeymans failed to question the Port’s fanciful public relations campaign.   Josh Kowalski, the Port’s vice president of sales and business development, said “Acreage is our selling point .. we have the space …”, but a quick tour of the Port would show it is completely built out.  It can only expand by invading residential areas or corruptly manipulating local zoning laws.  Carver Companies has already clearcut an important indigenous woodland along the Hudson and would continue such destruction if allowed to expand in Coeymans.   In short, there is no more space at the Port of Coeymans.  Nor is there room on our residential two-lane roads for the heavy industrial truck traffic the Port has already attracted, let alone an increase in such traffic.  Mr. Karlin is an experienced reporter and should be able to recognize when he is being sold a fairytale that needs to be questioned before it is reported as fact.  Moreover, despite its impressive PR, the Port of Coeymans is not the only port along the Hudson that can handle large infrastructure and wind power projects; it is just the area’s only non-union port.  The Capital Region has room at the Port of Albany and has considerable space in Rensselaer.   TU reporters should take a look around or even talk to local residents before swallowing exaggerated claims from the Port of Coeymans.

Barbara Heinzen

Local Resident & Chair of Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena-Coeymans

Posted on

East Greenbush Port is a no-brainer

Why destroy acres of natural habitat on the Hudson River and increase truck traffic on River Road when a better candidate for offshore wind exists? The East Greenbush Port is the ideal candidate for building/manufacturing/storing 400-foot wind blades. Watch this video to see why:

Posted on

CAC Chair speaks at The Robert J. Doherty Memorial Lecture

L to R: Joe Ritchie, Bob Welton, Dr. David O. Carpenter, Barbara Heinzen, and Greg Campbell-Cohen

CAC Chair, Barbara Heinzen was invited to participate in a panel discussion at the second annual Robert J. Doherty Memorial Lecture on Sunday, April 14. The gathering was held at the SUNY School of Public Health by the Justice Center of Rensselaer County, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the memory of its co-founder with events that highlight important social and environmental issues.

The discussion was moderated by Dr. David O. Carpenter, Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at SUNY Albany. Also on the panel: Joe Ritchie of Lights Out Norlite, Bob Welton of Rensselaer Environmental Coalition Against Dunn Landfill, and Greg Campbell-Cohen of TIMBER (working to replace lead pipes in Troy).

Guest Speaker

Before the panel discussion, Guest Speaker, Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics, spoke about the many dangers of plastics and microplastics. “By design, plastics are not recyclable… and that’s why the only solution is to ‘make less plastic.'” Judith continued to stress the need for environmental standards for plastic packaging referencing her time at the EPA during the Obama Administration. “If you want a circular economy you’ve got to get toxins out of packaging.”

Protect Don’t Destroy

Heinzen then provided a timeline of the struggles that the residents of Ravena have had to confront in the Greater Ravena area, many created by the expansion of the Port of Coeymans: warding off waste burning at the local cement plant, advocating to pass the Clean Air Law in Albany County, and pushing the DEC for a cumulative impact study.

“I think the challenge of the 21st century is to include the natural world in our economic system in a positive way not a destructive way. There are no incentives for someone like me to increase biodiversity. I get nothing for removing the invasives from my property but the Port of Coeymans gets rewarded for destroying natural habitats. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Posted on

CAC attends NYSERDA Offshore Wind Open House

Members of the CAC attended NYSERDA’s Offshore Wind Open House on Wed, January 17, 2024. The 3-hour gathering was 3 of 5 educational forums directed at communities impacted by the industry.

The event was held at the Albany Armory and included informational booths with winners of NYSERDA’s third solicitation competition: Community Offshore Wind, Attentive Energy One, and Vineyard Offshore. We were eager to present our concerns to the representatives of all three.

Reps at the NYSDEC booth, now the Lead Agency of the GE/LM Wind SEQR review in Coeymans, also provided us with a better understanding of their role in assessing the POWI project.

The CAC understands the benefits of renewable alternatives and the urgency to transition away from fossil fuels. We thank New York State for championing offshore wind however nobody should be willing to sacrifice quality of life and the destruction of native habitats in exchange.

There are two other Cap Region ports more suited to accommodate a wind blade facility without controversy: the Port of Albany and the East Greenbush location. Neither will destroy fragile ecosystems, drive up truck traffic in our hamlet, create stormwater runoff flow into the Hudson River, or put at risk principal water aquifers. In the larger context of future projects, renewable or not, we believe that these are the risks associated with the expansion of the Port of Coeymans.